At dawn on September 11, 2015
Around the Washington Monument
Flags wave at half-staff in the warming air
Joggers run and stretch
And the buses go by wishing everyone a “Good Day”

September 11, 2001 was a beautiful day
A cool edging-towards-warm day with overtones of chill fall
The flags flew at the tops of their poles
The tourists walked over the grass to the museums
The homeless slept on grates where Metro’s heat kept them warm

Then came the World Trade Center attack.
Then an attack at the Pentagon.
Then a plane was crashed in a meadow in Pennsylvania

Washington writhed and emptied, first out the buildings, then onto the streets.
Babies in cribs enjoyed a trip outdoors not knowing why;
The governments’ daycares had closed
Soldiers on the streets with weapons, watching the frightened tourists trying to leave
The airports closed, the airplanes were grounded
At the end of the day, the sun shone with a reddish tint over a silent fearful city